Nowadays, network attacks are becoming more and more subtle and dangerous. Any link accidentally clicked or any email sent may very well lead to an attacker taking complete control of your device.
Hidden threats to email clients
Someone who can carry out the attack can create a special email. When a user using client software such as Outlook views or processes the email, the vulnerability will be triggered. This process does not even require the user to perform any additional click operations. Simply collecting and parsing emails in the background may lead to risks.
Once the vulnerability is successfully exploited, the attacker can run any code they want on the victim's operating system. This means that from stealing files to installing backdoors, the attacker can do whatever they want, but the user may not be aware of it.
Remote vulnerability in network protocol services
There are some services that monitor DHCP requests in industrial control systems or server environments. An attacker who specializes in forging specific DHCP messages would send these messages to the server running the service. If there is a vulnerability in the server, then this message becomes the key to intrusion.
The key point is that launching such an attack generally requires the attacker and the target to be on the same LAN, just like connected to the same switch. This has lowered the threshold for attacks and exposed networks within enterprises or specific locations to greater risks.
Malicious traps in database connections
This type of attack requires first deceiving the user's trust. The attacker will induce the user who is already logged in to the system to connect to a malicious SQL database server controlled by them. The connection request initiated by the user itself looks normal.
The problem lies in the replies given by the server. The attacker will embed malicious code in the reply packets. When the user's SQL client application processes these replies, the vulnerability will be triggered, allowing the attacker's code to be executed without the permissions of the user's machine.
Social engineering of fake links
The exploitation of this type of vulnerability relies heavily on the user's initiative. The attacker will carefully forge a URL link and may send it to the user through chat software, email or web advertising. The copy of the link is often very tempting or has a sense of urgency, thus inducing the user to click.
As long as the user clicks on this specially crafted link, the attack chain will start immediately. This vulnerability allows an attacker to remotely execute arbitrary commands on the user's device, which is as harmful as a vulnerability that does not require interaction.
The zero-day crisis of browser engines
Take the Skia graphics library vulnerability in Google Chrome as an example. This vulnerability originates from an integer overflow problem. An attacker can create a web page containing malicious code. When a user accesses it using a vulnerable browser, it may cause a crash or cause code execution.
This vulnerability is unique. Before Google officially released a patch, hackers had been found to have exploited it in real attacks. This caused Google to rush to launch version 119.0.6045.199 to fix it, highlighting the urgent threat of zero-day vulnerabilities.
Widespread impact of underlying framework vulnerabilities
For modern web applications, the file upload function belongs to a quite common module category. The Apache Struts2 framework has previously been exposed to a logical flaw. For attackers, by carefully constructing upload requests, they can bypass path restrictions and upload malicious files to a specific location on the server.
Given that Struts2 is the basic framework for many websites and applications, the scope of this vulnerability is extremely wide. Fixing them often requires developers to make adjustments to the upper-level application code, rather than just upgrading the framework itself, making the patching process complex and time-consuming.
In the face of these attack methods that are constantly being renovated and combined, from individuals to enterprises, how should we systematically build our own security defense lines, instead of just relying on a single anti-virus software or firewall? Everyone is welcome to share your own experiences and opinions in the comment area.
